Masamloc belongs to a tribe called Blaan in Davao del Sur and was born to a family of farmers. The eighth of 12 siblings, Masamloc found herself working for four different families in a span of three years in the hopes of completing her elementary education.

She was 14 when she started attending Sunday school so she can continue her basic education.

Migration from countryside

Jerome Alcantara, chief of the Resource Center Unit of the Visayan Forum Foundation Inc. (VFFI), said majority of child domestic workers are from the rural areas.

“Most of them started working at a very young age, usually sa mga farms, tapos nagshi-shift sila kapag off season ng planting, nagta-trabaho sila as domestic workers,” Alcantara said.

Her typical day at work started at 3 a.m. Her first task was to go to the wet market. By 4:30 a.m., she had four children under her care, cooked them breakfast, prepared their things for school, cleaned the entire house, and washed clothes.

Alcantara said that most stay-in domestic workers are on call and do not have enough rest time.

Child labor

VFFI estimates that the number of domestic workers in the Philippines ranges from 600,000 to 2.5 million. Based on the Philippine Child Labor Survey, about 600,000 child laborers aged 5 to 14 years old are in the service industry.

In a document prepared by VFFI deputy director Roland Pacis on the Consolidation of Island-Wide Consultations on Decent Work Agenda for Domestic Workers in the Philippines, he stated that some domestics are as young as 10 years old despite the existing law, Republic Act 9231, prohibiting the hiring of children under 15 years old.

Pacis added that employers often use verbal agreements to encourage parents to let their children work as domestic workers.

Meanwhile, the promise of a better pay drove a16-year-old domestic worker in Cotabato to try to leave the country illegally to work as a helper in Saudi Arabia .

Sheryl Loseno, VFFI coordinator for the Bahay Silungan sa Paliparan said “Olive” was part of the group intercepted by the government’s anti-illegal recruitment operatives at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport last August 12.

International Labor Organization (ILO) director Linda Wirth said special attention must be given to address child domestic workers. Wirth was the keynote speaker during the 2nd National Domestic Workers Summit held recently.

She said that the ILO estimates there are now more girls under the age of 16 are working in the domestic service sector.

“Their young age, isolation and separation from their families and peers, and near-total dependence on their employers exacerbate their vulnerability,” she said.